Nine San Diego Job Corps Center students and eleven students from Reality Changers in San Diego were honored on August 17, 2012 at the Fourth Annual Hire-A-Youth Commencement Ceremony at Qualcomm’s headquarters in San Diego, CA.  The students completed a five week, paid Work-Based Learning assignment at the company, where they received “on the job” training from Qualcomm staff mentors.
 
The Hire-A-Youth program was initially launched in 2009, with funding from the San Diego Workforce Partnership made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Qualcomm, a Fortune 500 Company has been part of the program since it began, and has fully funded the program which has benefitted 80 students.

Master of Ceremony for the graduation, Vance Anderson, Qualcomm Staffing Project Manager for the Hire-A-Youth program, has been involved in the program since 2009.  He spoke of his passion for helping young people and the satisfaction he receives from helping to change peoples’ lives. “This summer we wanted to create an environment that can serve as a stepping stone for you,” he advised the students, “to allow you to explore careers and perhaps serve as a career pathway.”

Tivy Sinclair Jr. recently completed Job Corps’ Computer Tech program, and described his assignment as a “great experience”.  “Qualcomm’s mentors were friendly, helpful, great teachers, and I learned a lot this summer,” he advised.  “My ultimate career goal is to be the CEO of my own computer networking company. “

Chuck Hulsey, an IT Manager at Qualcomm, served as one of Tivy’s mentors.  He praised Tivy for his hard work and dedication, and for being an instrumental part of a successful Qualcomm project.  Hulsey thanked Tivy for helping all the techs in the lab and he hoped Tivy enjoyed his time at Qualcomm as much as “we enjoyed having you here.”

Samantha Del Toro, completed both the Auto Tech and Office Administration trades at Job Corps.  She said working at Qualcomm was “a wonderful experience, and all the staff were friendly and helpful.” The former President of Job Corps’ Student Government Association said she was not sure of her future career but wanted an “adventurous job” that would involve overseas travel.

Special Guest Speaker at the ceremony was Sandy McBrayer, Chief Executive Officer: The Children’s Initiative, (and former National Teacher of the Year).  She spoke of the unpredictability of life and the serious challenges facing young people in America. “It’s how you handle what happens to you in life,” she advised the graduates.  “Congratulations for having the courage to get here in your lives.  You have the ability to act,” she added, “and have the power, passion and skills to make yourselves great.”

Christi Cline, Qualcomm’s Program Manager for Career Explorations, worked with Vance Anderson as the Program Lead for the summer internship. “I’ve been working at Qualcomm for almost a year,” she stated, “so this was my first experience with the Hire-A-Youth program.  It’s been great getting to know these very talented young people, and it’s been an incredibly rewarding experience for me and the Qualcomm staff.  I think all the students and mentors benefitted from their participation this summer.”